Chapter 9-Kenya #2
“Were you always this much of a pompous asshole? Or is this a new characteristic?”
“Come on, Kenya—”
“No. I was over you the moment you , my boyfriend, proposed to another woman. I refuse to be anybody’s option when I am a first-class type of woman.
You may be a hot commodity, but I’m a rare and very precious jewel.
There are plenty of foolish women who would love to have you.
I, however, am not one of them. Have a good day, Ahmad.
” I was prepared to walk away from him, but I had one more thing to declare.
“And as far as this,” I said, waving the paperwork in the air, “I’ll give my client her options, then I’ll strongly advise that she take her husband to court.
I can’t wait to take him for everything he has and embarrass you in the process, asshole. ”
Each poised step I took toward my office was more aggressive than the next. His offer was nothing more than disrespect wrapped in flattery. It was a wonder how I loved him.
Sadly, I had to admit, had Ahmad given me that proposition to take him back a few years ago, I would have been ready and willing to be his wife.
I would have even gone as far as playing stepmom to his daughters, with a smile, and I would’ve taken him back as my way to have the last laugh in the face of his wife. Yes, a part of me was delusional enough to think that I could get the last laugh by carrying his last name.
It took me time, but I knew that his betraying me was what needed to happen. For years, I secretly hated his wife when, in reality, she owed me nothing and Ahmad owed me everything.
I was devastated for years after our breakup, but if the past changed, my present and my future would be altered. Ahmad and me not working out was probably one of the best things to happen to me.
I waited about ten minutes before I picked up my phone and called Bailee.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Is my unwelcome guest gone?”
“Yes, he left as soon as your office door closed.”
“Perfect. Thank you,” I said and disconnected the call.
I reached for my cell phone to call Sydney so I could vent, only to see that I had a text from Devon.
Baby girl. Initially, it was a term that repulsed me, but coming from Devon, it didn’t seem so bad … Really, it wasn’t bad at all. I wanted to respond back to him, but in a way, I felt like he’d already ended the conversation, so instead, I double tapped his last message and put my phone away.
He shared with me that he owned a few nightclubs. When he said the name, I knew exactly where one of the locations was. I hadn’t visited the venue, but I’d heard about it.
Devon and Tobias knowing each other was the monkey wrench I never expected. Not only did Tobias know Devon, but he liked him. Once I texted Tobias that I was home from my date, he called me and gave my date his stamp of approval.
Tobias never liked any man that I brought around, especially not Ahmad. He let Ahmad know just how much disdain he had for him whenever they were around each other, so it spoke volumes that he thought so highly of Devon.
Thinking back on it, I should have known then that Ahmad was a sleaze because he never tried to defend himself against Tobias. He just swallowed his pride, tucked his balls, and didn’t say anything.
Just as I expected, Tobias told Fancy about my date, and she even vouched for Devon.
After Sunday brunch a couple of days prior, while I was helping her in the kitchen, she filled me in on some of the things that he and I hadn’t spoken about.
Fancy told me that Devon’s mother had him young and looked at him as more of a burden than anything.
His mother chose to go out, party, and live her life as if she didn’t have a child at home who needed her.
When Fancy would see him around her neighborhood, she took it upon herself to look out for him.
She made sure that he had clean clothes, took a hot bath every night, and had a good meal before he went to sleep.
Fancy was a beautiful soul and a godsend. When I was at dinner with Devon, I stopped just short of telling him that Fancy was more of a mother to me than my own mother. I could relate to him on the level of having a mother who didn’t love or care for me.
After staring at my phone, I decided to put it away and get to work. I made a copy of the documents that Ahmad gave me, analyzing them so that I would be prepared to present them to Mrs. Smith, then I picked up the phone to call her.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Smith. This is your attorney, Kenya Monroe. How are you doing today?”
“Yes, Ms. Monroe. I’m well under the circumstances, but to what do I owe this pleasure?”
Straight to the point. I knew she wasn’t interested in the pleasantries that were normally associated with a phone call, and I appreciated her for it. While I knew how to be kind and professional with my clients, essentially time was money, and thankfully, Mrs. Smith wasn’t my only client.
“I received a visit from your husband’s attorney, and he presented a proposition to settle out of court. There is a sizeable settlement amount along with an NDA.”
“An NDA,” she said before releasing a laugh. “I can’t say that I’m surprised. That sloppy bald-headed bastard came over to talk about our divorce, and I told him to see my attorney,” she said with a giggle. “I see he took my advice.”
“Yes, he did. I will be in the office until six this evening, if you would like to come in to look over the agreements today.”
“Ms. Monroe, I know my husband, and I know I can get at least twice the amount he has offered me. For the sake of time, humor me. What did he and his attorney propose?”
“They are proposing three point five million in addition to what was agreed upon in the prenuptial agreement, in the name of settling out of court. That does include signing a non- disclosure agreement. Naturally, in signing the agreement, you wouldn’t be able to speak with anyone regarding your marriage or divorce, aside from your legal counsel. ”
“Ha! That’s cute, but no. I want at least seven million before I consider signing any kind of non-disclosure agreement. If he is not okay with that, let him know we’ll see him in court.”
“I will call his attorney to let him know.”
“Thank you, Ms. Monroe. I appreciate your due diligence.”
“My pleasure, Mrs. Smith,” I said and ended the call.
Although I already had a distinguished career, Mrs. Smith’s divorce would place me in the big leagues and expose me to bitter spouses looking to ring their rich spouses dry.
I loved to see amicable divorces, but that wasn’t always where the money was, and money was always the motivation for me.
My goal was to get my clients what they wanted and deserved while earning my retainer and eventually their referrals.
In some social circles, when one got divorced, their friends were sure to follow.
What were the odds that she was the only unhappy wife in her circle of friends?
Ahmad was the last person that I wanted to talk to, but for my client, I called his office and went over what Mrs. Smith and I discussed. He told me that he was sure his client would comply, but he needed to speak with him to make sure.
After the call, I spoke with another client, Mr. Reese Hawthorn, so we could talk about the next steps concerning his divorce case.
This case was as cut and dry as any I’d ever tried. He caught his wife, an heiress who failed to make him sign a prenuptial agreement, sleeping with his twin brother. He wasted no time contacting me and filing for a divorce.
Mr. Hawthorn was one of the most bitter and petty men that I’d ever come in contact with.
I couldn’t say it wasn’t warranted though.
He had her on tape, tied to the bed, while his brother had his way with her.
Though he and his twin were identical, his brother possessed a birthmark that covered a significant part of his back, which made all the difference.
She couldn’t deny her actions. Not even if she wanted to.
On top of the tape that my client had as proof of infidelity, his wife went with an inexperienced law firm for her representation.
Her choice of legal counsel made it obvious that she didn’t care about losing her money.
If I were her, I would have had one of the best attorneys in the city representing me.
She was more worried about saving money on her attorney’s retainer fee, rather than saving her inheritance.
She would learn the hard way, thanks to me.
If I learned anything in my career, it was to make sure that my assets and bank accounts were protected in the event of a divorce.
In a perfect world, the man I married and I would stay together forever, but in the real world, things happened, and you needed to protect yourself before it hit the fan.
My phone rang, causing me to put my work on hold to answer. From the distinguished tone that played, I knew it was Kendra. I was prepared to call Sydney, but I didn’t want to ignore my little sister so I could call my best friend.
“Hello. How are you doing?” I spoke as soon as the call connected.
“I’m great, just leaving the gym. I wanted to apologize for missing our dinner this week. Ivan and I had a function we had to attend. You know how that goes … Well, you actually don’t know. Not firsthand at least, but there are perks and pains associated with being the wife of a doctor.”
“Yes, I completely understand,” I spoke and rolled my eyes. I loved my sister with my whole heart, but sometimes Kendra had a tendency of irritating me in a way that made me want to create distance between us.
“Enough about my married to medicine lifestyle. Spill the beans! How was your date?” Her question was enough to change my disposition and put a smile on my face, allowing her snide comment to be an afterthought.
“It went very well. Despite his tattoos and grill, I am surprisingly attracted to him,” I cheerfully responded.
I was sure she could detect the smile in my voice.
“Oh, Kenya, did you just say that he has a grill and tattoos? Oh, my God. I should have never suggested that app for you in the first place. How are you going to shake him? They must have some kind of block setting on that app. If there was ever a time for you to use it, it’s now.”
“I’m not going to shake him . I fully plan to see where it goes.”
“You have got to be kidding? Tell me you’re not serious. Kenya, you can’t be that desperate. Think about what Mother will say. You are going to be the cause of her having a stroke. Girl, don’t do this to yourself.”
“You sound unreasonably judgmental right now. Not everyone can be married off to the highest bidder like you,” I replied, and instantly regretted my word choice. Not because my words weren’t true, but because I shouldn’t have said them in a state of anger, regardless of how wrong she was.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
“Wow, and you think I’m the one being judgmental? I can’t believe you would say such a thing to me. I’m going to end this call before I say something I’ll regret.”
“Kendra—” I said as my phone beeped to notify me of the disconnected call.
Although I meant what I said, I wanted to call her back so I could apologize for hurting her feelings. I didn’t like being at odds with her, but I knew she would never agree with my seeing Devon.
Then again, it wasn’t her choice to make, and I didn’t need her approval to be happy.